Controversy grows over proposed sand mine near Starved Rock

UTICA -- A sand-mining operation slated for land next to Illinois’ most visited state park has sparked controversy in LaSalle County.

CHRIS YOUNG

UTICA -- A sand-mining operation slated for land next to Illinois’ most visited state park has sparked controversy in LaSalle County.

Mississippi Sand LLC of Maryland Heights, Mo., wants to mine St. Peter sandstone from a 350-acre parcel of farmland just east of Starved Rock State Park on the Illinois River near Utica.

Mining of sand or gravel occurs elsewhere in the area, but opponents of the latest project say the mine’s proximity could harm local tourism and the ecology of the park.

Neighbors have voiced opposition to the proposed mine, as have conservation groups like the Illinois Chapter of The Sierra Club and Starved Rock Audubon Society.

So many people turned out Dec. 14-15 for a meeting of the LaSalle County zoning board of appeals that the meeting had to be moved to a larger venue. Then it took two days and 14 hours for all the testimony to be heard.

At the meeting’s conclusion, the zoning board of appeals voted unanimously to recommend Mississippi Sand be granted a special-use permit to build the mine.

The LaSalle County Board will consider the recommendation at 1 p.m. Jan. 12 at the Ottawa Knights of Columbus Hall.

Blasting, dust

Opponents continue to make phone calls and write letters in hopes of convincing the board to block the project or send it back to the zoning board of appeals.

“Many of use feel it will have a negative effect on Starved Rock,” said John McKee of the Starved Rock Audubon Society. “The mine will be right next to Illinois, Ottawa and Kaskaskia canyons.

“And there will be blasting and dust, and light pollution to disrupt night migrating birds,” he said. “This particular mine is the wrong place.”

Starved Rock Park celebrated its centennial as a state park this year.

It features 18 sandstone canyons carved by torrents of water released by melting glaciers at the end of the last ice age.

The park is within two hours’ drive of Bloomington, Chicago, Peoria, the Quad Cities, Rockford and Springfield.

McKee said the eastern portion of the park is easily accessible for those who are not able to hike long distances or use the stairs that help visitors navigate the steep terrain in other parts of the park.

“Mostly it is going to be a sad intrusion on a very beautiful area of the park,” McKee said.

Minimal impact?

Tony Giordano, president of Mississippi Sand, said his company is committed to minimizing disruptions to Starved Rock.

“All of our traffic will be headed east away from the park,” he said. “None of our traffic will be going through the park.

Illinois 71 bisects the eastern portion of the park before winding down the bluff and continuing east along the Illinois River.

“And we have the ability to flex our schedule to address any traffic concerns for special events,” he said, noting that the company has the ability to store material in a silo at the shipping terminal in Ottawa, stockpiling product so truck traffic can be reduced when park visitation is high.

“We are trying to be respectful of folks wanting to use the park,” Giordano said.

At full production, Giordano said he expects 110 trucks per day to use Illinois 71 between the mine and Ottawa.

“I realize the number of trucks may sound like a lot, but as a proportion of traffic on the roadway, it is relatively minor,” he said.

“They promised to minimize the impacts,” McKee said. “That was what their testimony was all about, which is an admission that there are going to be impacts.”

DNR permit needed

An earthen berm will be constructed to block motorists’ view of the mining operation, Giordano said.

The berm will be more expensive, he said, because it will be completed at the beginning of the project instead of being built up as mining progresses.

“A lot of our proposals have been reflective of our desire to do things the right way and be a valuable corporate citizen in the community,” Giordano said.

Mississippi Sand also has developed agreements to safeguard nearby wells and insure neighboring property values should they decline, he said.

Spokesman Chris McCloud said DNR has not received an aggregate reclamation permit application so far. “It would be hard for us to comment on something that has not been submitted to us yet,” McCloud said.

He said DNR does not expect to receive the application until zoning issues are resolved.

“Our permitting process is governed strictly by statute and other laws and regulations,” he said. “If a mining company complies with all statutes, rules and regulations set forth in Illinois law, then a permit shall be approved.

“There, of course, are mandatory public comment periods, threatened- and endangered-species consultations that are also part of the overall process.”

Chris Young can be reached at (217) 788-1528.

Frac sand

Sand to be mined from a proposed facility just outside of Starved Rock State Park near Utica will be used in a process to extract oil and natural gas from pockets deep underground.

Mississippi Sand LLC turns St. Peter sandstone — formed more than 400 million years ago — into “frac sand” for the oil and gas drilling industry.

The company’s main production facility is in Festus, Mo.

“Silica is one of the most abundant minerals on the earth, and sand is everywhere,” said Tony Giordano, president of Mississippi Sand.

“But what makes St. Peter sandstone unique is it is very round and very hard,” he said. “Those are the two factors that are important in using it in the natural gas and oil industry.”

Sand used in hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” has to be hard to hold fractures open under tremendous pressure.

“The drilling companies drill a vertical or horizontal hole in the earth, and once they create the fractures, they pump these types of sands in those fractures along with various kinds of fluids,” he said. “They are trying to push this sand as far as they can into the crack to hold them open as long as they can.”

The round shape leaves space between the grains — enough for oil and gas to flow through.

“Sand with flat sides or angles can create closures or block off the flow,” Giordano said. “The sand needs to be round.”

-- Chris Young

On the Web

Mississippi Sand LLC

www.mississippi-sand.com

Starved Rock State Park

http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/parks/I&M/EAST/STARVE/PARK.HTM

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